2018 Hyundai Kona EV Release Dates: US, Canada, Europe, Korea

Earlier this week in Korea, Hyundai held a special event that was devoted to reveal their future plans in the eco-friendly segment.

Among the exhibits was a new fuel cell SUV that is scheduled to hit the market next year.

They also took time to talk about their plans in the electric vehicle segment.

Perhaps the biggest news item at the vent was the announcement of a release date for the Hyundai Kona EV.

The rumor was that it would be in showrooms in 2018, and that has now been confirmed by the Koreans.

The release of this news means that we now have a basic timeline of when we can expect to see the Kona EV in the global market, so let’s take a closer look.

Hyundai Kona EV release dates

South Korea will be where the Kona EV gets released first, with the date of said release scheduled to be in April 2018. It is slated to hit showrooms very quickly after it is unveiled in the domestic market.

US residents will only need to wait a couple of extra months before they get behind the wheel, with the Kona EV expected to go on sale in the United States in June 2018.

The European release date should be about the same time as the US, but all Hyundai are committing to at the moment is a summer 2018 release in Europe.

More Kona EV details

We learned a little more about the Kona EV via the Korean automotive media, with specs and production information revealed.

It will be the Ulsan production plant in Korea where the Kona EV will be made, and the expectation is that that about 13,000 units will be produced to begin with.

The low number may be due to the fact that production will start in the middle of the year.

We can certainly expect the production number to rise dramatically if the Kona EV proves to be a global sales success.

150kw electric motor

The Kona EV may prove to be a more performance oriented model when compared to its competitors in this segment.

Word is that it will come equipped with a 150kw electric motor, allowing the vehicle to generate 201-hp.

That’s a rather dramatic increase on the power currently produced by the Hyundai Ioniq EV, which comes in at 120-hp.

240 miles EPA range

This is one piece of information that has been common knowledge for a while.

The Kona EV will come with a range of around 240 miles (390 km).

That should put the Kona EV ahead of the competition – Chevy Bolt, Nissan Leaf, BMW i3 – in the compact EV segment.

That range, as well as the pricing for the model, is going to determine how well the Kona EV does once it hits the market.

You can bet that Hyundai engineers worked hard to squeeze out as many miles as possible to make the Kona EV even more attractive to potential buyers.